Chapter Text
Chihaya was anxious. Very anxious.
Her classmates were very talkative yesterday, and she was still feeling on edge thanks to being new in class, so she didn’t get the chance to learn much information the day before.
And now there’s a test. Yay.
She knows she probably could’ve checked the digital classroom, but that was rarely updated, and she needed to practice her guitar anyway, she was trying to learn a new song too.
She walked into class, a bit later than the day before, now that she was accustomed to the route to get to her classroom, and all of the papers the teachers had to give her had been gotten out of the way. She noticed the seat from yesterday that was empty wasn’t empty anymore, though, a very…tired mousy-looking girl sat there, with black hair, and bangs that nearly covered one of her eyes. She had ruby red eyes, and she was actually…breaking dress code? She was pretty sure they weren’t allowed to wear jackets indoors over their uniforms, but she was. She was transfixed on her phone, playing a mobile game of some sort. There was also some sort of monster energy on her desk. Don’t ask Anon which one it was, it just looked bright pink and full of added chemicals.
Anon stared at the girl for a second, and she looked up from her game, making eye contact with her.
Crap! What do I say…uhm…god, her eyes are kind of imitating…uh…
The girl said something in a low voice, tilting her head slightly.
“We got that test today, right?”
Anon hesitated before replying, “Uhm…Y-yes?”
She shrugged. “K.”
She doesn't care about school at all! You could think she’d actually care about what kind of test it was!
Sighing, Anon went over to her seat, putting down her guitar next to her guitar, checking her phone, and mindlessly scrolling through social media before the bell rang. There wasn’t anything interesting, though, so it just turned into her doomscrolling for 15 minutes.
The girl who sits in front of her walked in again, and sat in front of her, giving the same air of elegance yet also the fuck off energy as well. It was very…interesting? Anon didn’t hate it, if anything. Don't get that twisted; if anything, it was like a puzzle for her to solve when she got some pieces together.
Then, before she could think, the girl in front of her pulled out her notebook and handed it to her.
“You’ve been out, and yesterday was hard to focus, I imagine, so here.”
Anon hesitated for a moment before accepting the notebook, their fingers brushing against each other for a brief moment. Her hands were very cold. Made sense, she didn’t know why, though, it was more of a vibe thing.
She replied, lacking some of the usual bite and bluntness that her tone usually carries.
“Thank you…Togawa-san?”
The girl nodded, “Yes, that’s my name. Togawa Sakiko.”
She held out her hand gently, in a form of a handshake, making eye contact with her.
Anon smiled very softly. At first glance, you probably couldn’t even tell it was there.
“Anon Chihaya.” She reached out her hand and shook hers, making eye contact, before looking down at the notes she had, doing some impromptu studying before the teacher walked in and gave them their tests.
The teacher came in and said they would pass out the tests shortly, so she quickly handed Sakiko’s notebook back to her, which she took without looking back, getting out her pencil case.
Anon took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the test…it will be fine!
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Anon didn’t know what she got on the test yet, but those around her wouldn’t stop talking about it during lunch, and it started 2 minutes ago.
She sighed, pulling out her phone as she ate her bento that she prepared earlier that morning. She went to YouTube and checked her notifications on her video.
>Morfonicating: So cool!! Your voice is really cute :3
>MashiroGlazer300: Your guitar part fits the song so well!
She sighed, liking them as she went by. She started posting to YouTube a while ago, under the name “Tokumei” because her mom said her guitar skills were going to waste if she didn’t perform at school at all, so she convinced her to start posting stuff online. Recently, they convinced her to post a cover with her voice, and it seemed to be doing okay, but still, she felt unsure…
> Moon’sDoll: Your voice is amazing. It paired with your sharp guitar playing creates a strong contrast with each other that sounds amazing. I tried playing along with the video with my piano, and I think it sounded nice. Link
That got her attention. She grabbed her earbuds out of her bag and clicked on the link, leading to a short clip of the chorus of Flame of Hope playing, specifically her cover version. Then all of a sudden, the piano came in, and wow.
This person was good .
They had a deep, somber sound that also felt elegant and like it reached into your very soul. It was…amazing. She had no words. Well, she did want to comment, it just took her a second to find the words.
It’s illegal for someone this good to be following me, right? That’s just too good!
Taking a deep breath, Anon started to write out a comment and pressed send.
>Tokumei: Thank you! I listened to your piano with my cover and it was great! You’re a really good piano player! ♪(^∇^*)
She sighed, then put her phone down, continuing to eat her lunch.
She glanced up for a moment, at Togawa-san in front of her…she was reading a book while eating her bento, her phone placed to the side. She still couldn’t place why that name was so familiar to her though…
Before her train of thought could continue, Togawa-san’s phone had gotten a notification. She put a bookmark in her book and placed it down, picking up her phone. Anon knows it’s technically rude to snoop, but as the weird quiet kid, she picked up the habit from being ignored and getting to listen in on whatever drama people around her were talking about.
She probably couldn’t read it without her glasses, but she tried her best to read the notification, and it said…
>YouTube: Tokumei replied to your comment! “Thank you! I listened to your…”
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. WAIT.
She coughed, right. She was eating. Just spit down the wrong pipe thank god but still. That drew Togawa-san’s attention to her though.
She tilted her head, “Are you okay, Chihaya-san?”
She cleared her throat, “A-ah, yep! Just some stuff down the wrong pipe, I-I’m all good.”
Anon thought for a moment. Should she say anything? If she would it matter? It’s not like it would hurt, right? She doesn’t have any friends, so getting one would be nice…but at the same time, it's not like she’d like to be her friend after a while. She’d just call her a liar and a fraud like the rest of those who got close to her. A two-faced liar who pretended to be blunt and shy to spy on others' information for their gain. It was stupid. So stupid. She just wanted to be devoid of any attention at all. But…something about Togawa-san felt different…she felt so nice, and mysterious…maybe, just maybe…it could be different this time?
Anon cleared her throat and looked away in nervousness, “Uh-uhm…”
Her hands were shaking.
“Y-your username…uhm…is it Moon’sDoll on YouTube?”
She perked her head up at that. She looked at Anon in a look of confusion, yet also interest.
“Yes, it is. Why do you ask?”
Anon gulped. “Uhm…Well…” She took a deep breath. “I heard your piano playing along to my cover, and I thought it was really good. That’s all.”
She hurriedly looked away in embarrassment. Got she felt so
stupid.
That wasn’t a good idea oh god oh shit she’s gonna judge me so hard for that oh go-
She looked at her. “...You’re Tokumei?”
Anon shakily nodded.
She took out her phone momentarily, and pulled out a playlist on youtube, presumably for music and the like, and in it was…
Her?
“I…your guitar and vocals are really good, Chihaya-san.” She smiled at her.
Anon lit up with happiness. “T-Thank you so much! I started a while ago because my mom said that I should post online, and well…here we are, I guess…?”
Togawa-san giggled.
Anon cleared her throat, “A-anyways, uhm…yeah. I-I’d…”
Deep breaths.
“I’d love to talk to you again about music sometime if you’re interested!”
Togawa-san paused, presumably contemplating. Then, she turned to her and smiled.
“I’d love to, Chihaya-san.”